I think part of the fun of dining out is finding the new and unexpected. So I was absolutely delighted when I spotted Bubble and Squeak on the menu at Owen & Engine this weekend. Admittedly, this was because I had no idea what the hell it was AND I enjoyed saying it. I am a woman of simple pleasures.

Bubble and Squeak, if you don’t know, is a fancy potato pancake with chopped-up left-over veggies. The name comes from the sound of the mixture frying up in a pan with lots of butter. It’s usually served with things like pickles, sliced meat, or a fried egg, but Owen & Engine has it on the sides menu so you can decide to pair it up however you’d like. The restaurant doesn’t use left-overs in their version, and they skipped some of the traditional veggies to go with turnips and onions.

It was delicious, and most importantly, Owen & Engine inspired me to go home and try my own version.

A selection of veggies and figs in a clay roaster

I don’t talk a lot about cooking on this site because I only know how to make recipes for a small army, and there’s seldom reason for me to feed a large number of people. My freezer is now full of bubble and squeak components, which is the bad news. The good news? This dish is incredible easy to make, and doesn’t really require a recipe — only a will to chop.

Over the course of an afternoon, I roasted cabbage, figs, Brussels sprouts, garlic, onions, potatoes, and carrots in my clay roaster. I let the veggies cool, chopped them up, and then mixed small portions together into the mashed potatoes I made. I fried the patties in some butter until they were brown on both sides, and topped my dish with a fried egg.

Voilà!

Bubble and Squeak

I need to play with the veggie-mashed potato portion a bit, and not fry it for quite so long. Other than that, this is awesome comfort food. I have some left-over pickles from Owen & Engine which I’ll use to plate my next version. Who knows? I may even try to make pickles when these run out.